Nonstop flight route between Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Gallup, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP), Gallup, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,545 miles (or 8,923 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō and Gallup Municipal Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō and Gallup Municipal Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ):

• Both squadrons fly the Block 50 F-16C/D "Wild Weasels", and use the tail code of "WW" was carried.
• Between May and August 1953, the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing pulled a rotational TDY at Misawa relieving the 27th and being relieved in turn by the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• The furthest airport from Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ) is JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MSJ.
• The Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site was used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit.
• The Imperial Army transformed Misawa into an air base in 1938 when it was used as a base for long-range bombers.
• The 31st Air Division was inactivated on January 15, 1968, and was replaced at Misawa by the 475th Air Base Wing.
• The first operational fighter wing was the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group, being reassigned to Misawa on March 31, 1948.

Facts about Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP):

• Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP) is St. Johns Industrial Air Park (SJN), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) SSW of GUP.
• Because of Gallup Municipal Airport's high elevation of 6,472 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GUP. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GUP a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,248 miles (18,102 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The airport is on Historic Hwy 66.